Minor update: Chevrolet Malibu of 2019 - Michigan to Minnesota in 2020

[trinacriabob]

I'll do this minor update with pros and cons, since it's just an update and it's easier.  I had a white 2019 Malibu sedan that I drove for about a week from Michigan's U.P. to the Twin Cities.  I've probably had a handful of this generation of Malibu as rentals.

 

Pros:

- familiar and popular

- the 1.5 liter engine is up to the task, but that's probably because of the assist from the turbocharger

- roomy interior and trunk

- sensible dash layout and cluster arrangements that are easy to learn

- respectable fuel mileage, especially on the highway

- fairly comfortable seating

- nimble and connected handling ... seems to be at its best on winding, rural 2 lane roads at 35 mph to 45 mph

- the auto-stop/start can now be deactivated from the dash

- the rear fascia, with its lip, and the taillamps are attractive, especially with the more recent redesign

Cons:

- the CVT isn't too too bad, but it's not as much fun to drive as when it had a geared automatic transmission

- for a somewhat large car by today's standards, the price is a little high for 1.5 liters, or about 90 cubic inches

- I'd rather not have a turbocharger

- down-market fabric and interior bits on LS and LT base versions; color choices, especially for interiors, are very limited

- no leather steering wheel on the one-up LT version ... to get it, you have to get leather seats and a whole bunch of other stuff ... similarly, it would be nice to order up a power driver's seat by itself and not be forced to get one of the additional packages

- no remote release fuel filler door

- every rented Malibu I've had with over 25,000 or 30,000 miles has had a drone of sorts from the rear, and it leads me to wonder if it's a hub bearing or a tire ... or if they're just not driven and maintained with a lot of care

- not as quiet on interstates as a heavier GM midsize of yesteryear, especially where the paving hasn't been updated in a while

- the styling is quirky in parts - the roofline of the cabin looks too elongated and the window/roofline at the rear pillar looks odd, the front grilles of this model have always been tall and segmented in an awkward way

- the base price of simpler models doesn't offer compelling value

 

This car is a real mix of pros and cons.  This generation, with this turbocharged engine and transmission, has only been around for half a decade, so we won't know with more precision about its longevity and reliability.

I don't know what Chevrolet is going to do with this car.  I wish they'd keep it and improve it.  I know what I'd like to see, since I prefer sedans and coupes.  Even if the geared automatic transmission doesn't come back, could you at least throw in a normally aspirated engine with a larger displacement?  Toyota's Camry has a bigger 4 with a geared automatic, and it gets commendable highway gas mileage. Some of the vantage points of this car are somewhat attractive and some aren't.  Could the greenhouse be "jelly beaned up" a little to get rid of the elongated look and kinks in the window profiles?  Can you throw in a leather steering wheel and maybe even a power seat into the basic LT?

Photos:

Exterior side view - see my comments about the rear 1/3 of this vantage point

Front 3/4 view:  the lattice effect on the grille helps some over the earlier ones, but they could redesign it

Rear 3/4 view:  attractive enough treatment of the rear

Dashboard and instrument cluster:  pleasant to look at, easy to learn, and I like the digital setting for the speedometer (not yet set to do that)

Center stack:  mostly engaged as opposed to upright, so it looks decent.  Both the infotainment system and the climate control panels are easy to operate

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End of review and photos

Edited January 12, 2022 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

My wife has a '16, it has about 54K miles on it now. Turbo... I don't know the displacement offhand. 6-spd auto. Power is pretty good on this combo, I agree on the handling- nothing quirky or unsettled.

Her's has a leather-wrapped wheel and cloth seats. I think GM nailed the styling on it vs. 'bubbled'/taller sedans. Side contours are nice. Also like the split grille on the '16 vs. this arrangement. Here it is when she got it in '18 : 

[Drew Dowdell]

18 hours ago, balthazar said:

My wife has a '16, it has about 54K miles on it now. Turbo... I don't know the displacement offhand. 6-spd auto. Power is pretty good on this combo, I agree on the handling- nothing quirky or unsettled.

Her's has a leather-wrapped wheel and cloth seats. I think GM nailed the styling on it vs. 'bubbled'/taller sedans. Side contours are nice. Also like the split grille on the '16 vs. this arrangement. Here it is when she got it in '18 : 

1.5 liter Turbo.  If it was the 2.0T you'd know because she'd have burned a few sets of front tires off by now. Horsepower is 163 at 5700 rpm and 184 lb-ft of torque at 2500, about the same as the old 2.4 but the torque comes on lower.